Tis true what they say. Everyone at my recruitment day who tried too hard was eliminated. The ones who got to stay were all relaxed and taking everything one step at a time. You just have to remember that everyone is weak in at least one area. Everyone stumbles on a question or two, everyone finds themselves feeling inadequate in some way. And almost everyone who gets to stay for the afternoon wonders why some of those eliminated are going home.

Standard interviewing prep techniques will not help you at a recruitment day because it is not a standard interview. They want to see what you are really like so if you leave your true self at home on the day you will miss out on an opportunity to be recruited.

Getting an airline job isn't about having insider information. It's about just being the right person, with the right attitude and personality on the day. The best way to prepare for that is to be in a face to face customer contact job for a couple of years. It'll develop your confidence and self awareness which goes miles.

VRD
 

Hi all,

Ok so I got my VRD next week and I got a few questions if anyone can help me out?
I know its competitive and the best thing to do is just be natural and be yourself..but what kind of Role Plays do they put you through if you are progressed into the afternoon? I have never worked in airlines before and am not sure of all the procedures yet so how would I respond? Or is it just a basic overview of "what would you do" if something happened on board?
Do you think a suit/tie is appropriate or just casual smart? Ive heard a few different perspectives on this.
And also when I hand in my copy of my resume do you think it is best to include a photograph or do they take polaroids on the day or its not necessary?
Your help will be appreciated. Thankyou...
And congratulations to anyone who has been successful so far in the recruitment process.
Kind Regards

sky-high-boi

They do not expect you to have airline knowledge on the recruitment days and the role plays do not need it. Many of the candidates there will not be from an airline background.

Take only what they ask for nothing more and nothing less. If they want photos they will ask for them. I personally would wear business attire if only because it helps you to feel secure when you see others wearing it.

Good luck:ok:

Sydney Rosters
 

Can anyone give me an idea what SYD based cabin crew roster are like??
Overnights??
Are SYD based crew earning similar money to other bases??
Hours etc??
Many Thanks..

I would love to know what the Sydney rosters are like too. Anyone have an idea?

Do virgin have Overnights??

VRD
 

Hi all again,

Yeah I am still nervous about my VRD day next week but I know that once ive settled in there I will be more relaxed.
And yes I am not going to try too hard and be over the top bubbly because I know they will see through this and realise its fake, so im just going to be natural and myself but still smile alot.
Im hoping the role plays arent too difficult and is more just about common sense.
Lol some of the CC Ive seen on VB and JS I do wonder how they get through as they look terrible and have no customer service skills showing..but the majority of them are great. At the end of the day they cant expect perfect people as it is a budget airline within australia, its not Emirates International 1st Class.
Also because im a guy...people have told me there is generally more females there..about the suit and tie thing..people have said not to wear a tie as they are looking for more relaxed funky people. Lol I was thinking about wearing an open colar shirt with a suit jacket and no tie...let me know what you think :-)

No tie!

Relaxed outfit, but still formal. No Trackpants or Singlet guys

Well that's very interesting about the 'no tie' statement. Maybe I'm old school but I like to do things properly, I wore a suit and tie and I made it right through to the job offer.

It's probably been said many times before for nearly all airlines but I'll add it anyway. Just be relaxed, confident, punctual and talk to other candidates. Also be prepared to give negative and positive examples of when you dealt with the public, what was the situation, how did you deal with it and what was the resolution...that kind of thing.

In saying all of that, I'd agree with Airbornesoon, you don't need the company info as they will tell you about the company anyway but it's good to get familiar in any respect.

Good luck on the day and that's to anyone going for Virgin.

exmax.

Hello to everyone.

Was thinking about applying for Virgin Blue, so did a search for the EBA on Wagenet but could only find the one that expired in 2005. Is there any way that i can access your current agreement (presuming that the one that has expired has been replaced) to get an overview of the pay and conditions?

Also, from current Blue crew, what's the atmosphere like? Generally a good feeling on board between crew (flightdeck and cabin)? Between management and crew?

Do you have some form of bidding/request system, or is it just a matter of taking whatever the rostering gods throw at you?

And my last request, what are the chances for career development? Do they encourage you to move up the ranks or into other areas of the airline?

Thanks in advance and good luck to everyone with assessment days that are coming up!

the 2005 EBA is still current, just add 3% to base wage.

A revised EBA was voted and declined by the CC and was to be reoffered thou the company held off on the second round process.

We are still currently on the 2005 EBA.

I must say re: interaction with cabin and flight crews are great, a very cohesive team in and out of the plane. Enjoyable to have interactions with crews.

Firstly, Kronos is our new rostering system. Apparently Emirates have this system already??? First month of the new system is June rosters and both FC and CC eagerly await the result of this new software.

Career development has not been greater than it is now. With 50+ 737's, 20+ Embraer's, and not to forget the 777's on the way VB/VOZ is expanding like nobody's business. Currently they are advertising internally for CC, CS, Ad-hoc CC trainers, etc. The list goes on. If you can get your foot in the door, keep a clean sheet (low profile) then within 12 months of being CC I wouldn't be surprised if you had a shiny new red bagde (CS).

CC schools in MEL and SYD till the end of the year, maybe only a couple in BNE.

Thanks wirgin blew and KittyBlue!

Will definitely start filling in my application and keep my fingers crossed for an invite.

I considered applying for VAustralia, but the thought of any more long-haul is enough to make me jump from the boarding door.

If you don't mind another question, how does the new bidding system work? Obviously you don't yet know whether it is effective in giving you what you want, but what are the capabilities of the system? Can you bid for maximum overnights, early/late starts or finishes, certain routes, aircraft types? Is it seniority based?

Thanks again.

Hi all!

Just a quick question if anyone knows when the next ground schools will be in Brissy? They seem to be slowing them down??? Any reason why??

Thanks in advance

BG

Hi Tray_Juggler

Crew place their requests into the system, ranking them by their importance. The system works by scoring each person based on the bids it is able to satisfy to give each crew member a satisfaction ranking. It endeavours to get as many as possible close to the average for the company. It also checks each crew member over the previous 2 months and can 'favour' crew who have been under the average previously.

Capability wise - we've been told there are many bid-options (additional ones may get rolled out over the coming months) - Management have also communicated that the system may not be fully compatible with the work-rules that we currently have as it is mostly used by airlines following the CAP371 guidelines)

Our current options include bidding for days off (specific dates or day-of-the week), Overnight ports (specific date or general), overnights (greater than, equal to, or less than), signon time (preference or avoid)

Bidding for specific pairings is an option that will be coming in the future. As for a/c type - haven't heard anything on this.

Seniority - it did come into play under the old system if 2 people bid identically it would look at start-date - but under the new system, I don't see that it would be able to favour based on seniority when it's trying to keep everyone as close to an average as possible.

Hope this is of some use to you (and anyone else reading)

VRD
 

Hi again all,

Just a quick question...Last month I completed a Senior First Aid certificate but VB are also requesting a CPR Certificate..or is this included in it?

Pls help.. thanks,,,

As far as I know...Senior First Aid includes CPR, have a look on your cert. It will probably list 2 quals, one is first aid and the other CPR. Mine does.:ok: If you want to be sure contact your certifier and ask them.

Re Brisbane ground schools, I am pretty sure one started today!

hey guys, wirgin blew as well mentioned schools for the rest of the year for MEL & SYD. I am on a waitlist for MEL & am curious what is pencilled in for start dates for CC schools. The wait is a real killer!! Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Penciled in means virtually penciled in. The schools need to give way for crew to do SEP revals and other important things to keep the crew on line.

The schools change on a regular basis, so if your told one from a non training person there is a high likelyhood that has changed already, alot of people have experienced this as i have.

Group 112 started in SYD yesterday. Group 111 finishes in MEL end of this week.

Goodluck to all those starting, finishing, still waiting.

I was wondering how many people make it to stage 2?

On hold!
 

Went for the VRD early April and managed to get through ref checks however yesterday I received a call saying at the moment everything is put on hold as they have no ground schools as yet.
I asked the recruiter approximately when and she said at this moment its more likely July/August but to not get too excited yet so I guess things are still up in the air! So who knows eh? But the wait is just painful!!... and there I was getting so excited when she said she was calling from Virgin Blue!

Thanks dj_candidate!

I like the sound of that bidding system. Particularly the fact that it is more 'points', rather than seniority, based. If people are reasonably flexible, it sounds like it should give everyone some nice control over their rosters.

Speaking to a few ex-Virgin Blue crew who are working at my current airline, it really does sound like a great place to work.

Thanks again. Hope everyone's first month of bidding works out!

VB
 

Hi everyone,
I recently had an interview with Virgin Blue and recieved an email indicating that my application is being progressed past the recruitment day and I will know in two weeks. Does everyone who got to the next stage, the one on one interview recieve this email or do some people recieve rejection letters straight up? Would really appreciate any replies

Honestly I do not know the answer to that Flyhigh12. But in any case it really does serve you best to think that at this stage they are genuinely interested in you. And wait for the next email...:ok:

Flyhigh12, yeah I got that one. I guess it means that yeah they are intrested in you and others, and that once they review everyone fully they will then decide who gets moved through to the next stage, the ref checks. Im sure there were people that got the "thanks but no thanks" letters too. So you should be very happy.

Virgin are GREAT, like really great with keeping you up to date, they say 2 weeks, they mean it it. True to their word!

Hang in there, and congrats again!

Thanks heaps for the replies, really appreciate it! bet these will be the slowest two weeks ever!! I guess at least i made it past the first stage which I think is really great!
but hopefully it will be worth the wait in the end!:)

I can imagine, Its on my mind 24/7, so trying to keep busy and not think bout it to much, but if I dont get it I will be pretty upset, but I guess i can try for another airline, even though Virgin is really the only one that I think I would most like to work! So when do you start training school? If I get the job, you must let me know how hard it is!

syd base
 

hey everyone,
just a quick post to those syd based vb crew.. just wondering how its all going? how is everyone finding the rostering? Are you getting many overnights or are the number overnights expected to increase? and finally do the syd based crew do overnights in melb?!
any comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks :O

hi everyone,

just like to let you all know that i got the job! I'm so over the moon as its been my dream since i was young.

Anyone who needs tips or advice dont hesitate to pm me, id be more than happy to help.

im starting training on july 7th -anyone else in the same boat?

I was a bit disappointed to learn that trainees aren't accomodated, as I was told this from another source, but whatever, the job is all that matters!

good luck and all the best guys!

Congrats!
 

Hey Libra89,
Firstly congrats on the job!! You must be so happy!
Can I just ask when was your VRD??

I was on hold but they've called to say they're going to check my refs so it could be moving...slowly!

Anyway, congrats again and enjoy the time!!

Hey futureflier,

Just hold on there, everything will work out fine, I'm sure! Just make it to the medical, pass it and basically (although no guarantees) you've got the job.

My VRD was on Wednesday, 2nd April and approximately every two weeks, I was kept in the loop, so they were very good to me as a candidate (imagine as an employee!).

It was the following Monday that i got an email saying I had made it past the VRD and then two days after I got the ref check email.

15 days after on the 24/4, after I emailed them re: my progress, I got a reply the next day re: my application is being processed and what i should do to update them and keep all my details current.

I then didnt hear from them until the 13/5 re: making it to the medical - I first received a phone call and then an email. I went for my medical the following week on the 21/5. I was told that I had passed the medical on the day and that it would be passed on to VB.

I had to let recruitment know that I would be away from the 8/6 and at the time the medical results had not gotten to them; however the day after I was given a ring that the results were in and then offered a job. An email was sent re: all the job offer particulars (training, etc.).

Currently, I am starting training on July 7th and because i will be away on June 26th, which is when Sydney based cc will have their uniform fitting, Im being flown out on Wednesday to Melbourne for my fitting.

So thats what I went through - a very civil, orderly and relatively speedy process.

If there's anything else at all that you need clarifying just let me know!

Take Care and good luck

ahh waiting game with Virgin Blue
 

Well mine is a bit slower..It is driving me crazy!!

So I went for my interview on the 22nd April.. Recieved an email a fortnight later informing me I have progressed passed the recruitment day & was told I will get fortnightly updates..

Than 3 wks later I recieved another email informing me to keep all personal details the same.. Updating my information on there database.. And if progressed passed this point I will be notified to come in for Medical..

Just recieved an email on mon notifying me that due to operational recruitment requirements... we are unable to reactivate your application at this stage.... We will continue to email you on a monthly basis to ensure you are kept informed with our latest recruitment needs....

What does that mean? They have not even called up my references?

Melody, virgin are I would think tightening everything up due to costs!! They don't want too many crew just yet until the VB crew come across for the V Australia start up. Then they will know exactly how many holes to fill in which bases. Just hang in there, I had my VRD in February and only found out officially last week.

thank you Gloria I totally forgot about V Australia... Its good to be in the loop!!

thanks ;)

Hey melody23,

You poor thing I feel for you so bad! It must be so frustrating to be so close yet so far! Monthly updates?! Worse than a root canal.....

I just came from uniform fitting and was told by a recruiter that was there that of the 30 that progressed to the next round on the recruitment day alone, only 6 actually got the job. So, just hold on everyone and if you get it you get it, if you don't well that only means you try harder!

Melody23 you definitely have to try for Qantas MAM who are in Sydney next week, at least you'd be giving both a shot whilst waiting - why wait for nothing?

Please PM and I'll give you a bit more insight for the interview and whatnot - here's the link: mybookingmanager.com/mam

Good luck and all the best!!!

Hey Libra

Just wondering these 30 people obviously stayed the whole day???
So meaning.. Passed the 2 grp scenario's.. the test.. the roleplay... the one on one...

and than got an email saying the application has progressed and so far successful...

Because I 'know for a fact' that u can stay the whole day and still recieve a:

"sorry u have not been successful letter"
-the 30 peeps prob got this!!!!

next month Ill have some news k:)

Melody23, your VRD was only 5 weeks ago so I wouldn't give up hope yet or read anything into your situation. Most people take 8-12 weeks to go through the whole process so it's early days yet. And as Gloria said I'm guessing current circumstances will be having an effect.

Chin up and yes definately put a few more irons in the fire. You never know what the answer will be until you get the call. So can't hurt to have options.

thanks airborne! I will stay positive and stop stressin haha